Doug Walker, an early US high- tech pioneer and an avid outdoor enthusiast has been killed in an apparent avalanche.
Walker, 64, disappeared while hiking with a group of friends at the Granite Mountain Trail, about 72 km southeast of Seattle, California.
The King County Sheriff's Office found his body during a search on Friday along a route that he had apparently traversed many times. The American Alpine Club, for which Walker served as president, confirmed Walker's death.
Sheriff's Sergeant Cindi West said that "he was found in ... A debris field, which would be consistent with an avalanche having occurred, so that's one possible scenario of what happened."
Walker, originally from South Carolina, moved to Seattle to attend graduate school at the University of Washington.
In 1981, he co-founded Walker, Richter and Quinn (WRQ), a software firm that helped companies connect desktops with large mainframe computers.
Walker retired after WRQ Inc. Was sold in 2004 for an undisclosed amount.
Published reports at the time said the company -- which was one of the biggest privately held software companies in the United States -- recorded USD 100 million revenue the previous year, CNN reported.
Walker was founding president of the Seattle Parks Foundation and a member of other local and national outdoor organisations.
Walker was also remembered by US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who said in the Seattle Times that "our nation lost an amazing entrepreneur and true champion for access to the great outdoors for all people, especially youth."
Jewell and Walker had both served on the board of the outdoor equipment retailer REI.
